Has anyone been following Lost, this year. I find myself a little confused and disappointed by the seemingly religious theme introduced into the storyline. WTF? That was never alluded to before, unless I missed something major. I find myself in a similar position as I was when X Files was wrapping up. I hope they don't fuck it up like that series was. That would be a real tragedy for one of the best series on TV in recent memory.

Don't get me wrong. I don't mind the religious treatment, if that's how it ends up. But, I fail to see how these seemingly new and completely random-ish threads are going to be woven into a satisfying finale.

 

... Please explain.

 

The whole fucking series has been about it. How could you have failed to pick up on it?

 

Well besides the fact that this thread is in the wrong fucking area, then there really isnt much to discuss.

 

Moved to appropriate area. >_>

 

Sorry about this being in the wrong area. Wasn't thinking.

For the bulk of this series, the plotline has varied between what I will call "supernatural" and quasi scientific themes. Magnetic fields, sonic disruptors, numeric codes, temporal displacement, etc...On the other hand, we have the supernatural, ie. manifestations of the dead, smoke monsters, etc...

The key mystery of the series is which force, supernatural or scientific, explains these phenomenon. I don't remember ever seeing overtly religious references before. Now we have the others living in temples, allusions to god's and the Devil and the island being a seal on Hell? Again, I'm not against it, but it seems to unnecessarily complicate the satisfying resolution to this series by introducing new elements in the already twisted plotline.

 

The whole series has been laden with bible passages, allusions to known religious themes and allegories to biblical events, the whole Jacob vs Man in Black is quite obviously good and evil, and there's always been that 'do whats right' underlining message in the whole series. The latest episode just strengthens it, by a shitload.

 

The man in black is a character only recently introduced, as far as I can remember. Jacob was an unknown figure who appeared in a shack from time to time. Bible passages, biblical allusions, etc..I don't remember those at all. Not saying they didn't appear, I just don't remember seeing them. Obviously there was the pretend African priest. But, that's all I got on the religious front.

 

My parents raised me as a godless heathen, so I used to find it hard to pick out even the more blatant references until I learned a bit about religion. I didn't even realize that The Chronicles of Narnia were allegory until I reread them, and I was all like "HOLY SHIT LION JESUS". Once you get a basic understanding, you start seeing it everywhere, but before that it goes straight over your head.

 

In season two, Eko made almost constant religious references.

In season one, Locke alluded to it during his explanation of backgammon to Walt.

"There are two sides, one is light, one is dark."

Parallels recent events, especially considering the skeleton found in the caves which had a white and black stone in its pocket.

Season five, Ben explains the story of Paul (i think?) to Jack, explaining that Paul did not believe in the resurrection until faced with irrefutable proof.

Not a recent trend by any stretch.

 

Okay, Okay. I stand corrected. But even still, these are scattered references. Taken in the totality of the general mish-mash, I still stand by my statement that religiosity was not an overiding theme until this season. I will defer to Nephilim's superior knowledge, as I have no idea about the colors of the stones in the pockets of the dead people. You clearly have a much greater knowledge of the series than I.

On a semi-related note: Was that a statue of Osiris on the island? Very interesting if it was.

 

There have been on and off allusions to religion throughout the entire show. In season two when Jack's father was talking to Locke on the ship I thought that they were in hell or some type of purgatory, but then I changed my mind until I noticed Jacob always wears white, and the other guy has been in black when we've seen him. Go back and watch the series over with that in mind when you get some time, I suspect there will be a lot more things then anyone realized.

I think it was Anubis not Osiris, but I didn't get a very good look at it.

 

If it's the statue you're referencing, it's not Anubis, but Taweret, the Egyptian goddess of birth, rebirth and the northern sky.

Season 1:
In episode 5, Jack follows his dead father around. At the end of the episode, the phantom leads him to caves, with natural springs. In one of the alcoves are the skeletons of what appears to be a man and a woman. In the man's pocket are two stones, one white, one black.

 

Religious definition: "Believing in and worshiping a superhuman controlling power or powers."

Season 2, Episode 1 title: Man of Science Vs Man of Faith

Locke's faith isn't a strictly religious theme of any one religion, but his faith/belief in the island is a strong trend over the entire course of the character's life. Jack's (The former Man of Science) own faith crises in the middle of the science-y Season 5 is also highlighted.

However, when it comes to specific religion, Ab Aterno was big on the belief that the island is Hell because of the centricity of Richard - he was a God-fearing man whose own belief in the Devil and Hell coloured just the one episode. The rest of the season, however, is still about faith/belief, but not of any one religion (Unless Jacob/MiB-ism are religions now).

So yeah. I don't know what show you've been paying attention to, but the faith stuff is just as big as the science stuff - though the latter got starring role in Season 5 with electromagnetic pockets, time travel...

 

Well seeing as last night's episode was the series finale, thought it would be fitting to bring this back from the dead.

The ending was satisfying for me, despite not answering everything we want to know.
Ill leave a longer review later.

 

I honestly thought there was an unspoken rule not to talk about lost here.

live and learn

Anyway, was anyone else routing for the smoke monster; but this end was good to. Smoke monster would have been better, but this was good enough.

 

When Locke remembered in the flash-sideways, am I the only one that thought he might be the smoke monster?

I kept waiting for him to start killing everyone for a while.


>.>

 

Given the potential for how poorly this could've turned out, I think the finale was pretty good. It answered most questions, although there's still plenty of smaller ones that either have gone way over my head or just weren't elaborated on the main story.

I probably would've enjoyed it a little more than I did if the ending hadn't been so similar in Ashes to Ashes, which I watched last night. Not the same, but fairly close.

Seems there's more hatred for the finale than praise on forums at either LOST site or IMDB. Everyone seems to think nothing mattered, that the island was pointless.

Spoiler

From my understanding, the island was real, and everything that happened was real; Jack's dad told Jack as much, that everything that happened was real, and that everyone in the church was real. Further, he said some died before Jack did, and some long after. Kate said in the church "I missed you so much", which kind of implied she didn't die until long after Jack. Those on the Ajira flight made it off the island and lived. Hurley mentioned to Ben that he was a great number two, which also implies they lived for some time after Jack.

In the end, the show had its fair share of dull and boring moments (half of season six was really dull, even though I now understand the point of the flash-sideways), but it was worth the six years and 121 episodes. I doubt I'll ever watch it again, but I don't regret it.

Oh, and maybe I'm just fooled, but it does really seem to me that the creators had it mostly planned out from the start.

 

People are stupid that way. I agree with your spoiled assessment, but not the stuff about the final season being dull. It was a whacky fun ride, and the finale itself hit all the right buttons emotionally for me, which is always good.

I'll miss this crazy and sometimes illogical show. Now to avoid all of the whiny internet discussions, eh?

 

I've got to admit, I welled up on quite a few occasions.

Yes, it didn't answer everything, but that didn't matter to me. Indeed its truly the question of Man of Science/Man of Faith regarding those who question the ending and those who accept it.

Also would it be too spoilerish if I asked someone to make me a sig from this picture from the final episode? (Obviously don't click if you don't want any spoilers at all.)

The Pic: